The Life of George Borrow by Herbert Jenkins

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occupied by the Ladies, my friends; but soon desisted and at lastwent away, after using some threatening words to my Moorish Servant.Late at night of the second day of my imprisonment, I was set atliberty by virtue of an order of the Captain General, given onapplication of the British Consul, after having been for thirty hoursimprisoned amongst the worst felons of Andalusia, though to do themjustice I must say that I experienced from them nothing but kindnessand hospitality.

The above, Sir, is the correct statement of the affair which has nowbrought me to Madrid. What could have induced the Alcalde inquestion to practise such atrocious behaviour towards me I am at aloss to conjecture, unless he were instigated by certain enemieswhich I possess in Seville. However this may be, I now call uponyou, as the Representative of the Government of which I am a Subject,to demand of the Minister of the Spanish Crown full and amplesatisfaction for the various outrages detailed above. In conclusion,I must be permitted to add that I will submit to no compromise, butwill never cease to claim justice until the culprit has receivedcondign punishment.

I am, etc., etc., etc.GEORGE BORROW.MADRID (no date).

Recorded 6th December [1839]." {313a}

Thus it happened that on 19th December Mr Brandram received thefollowing letter:-

PRISON OF SEVILLE, 25th Nov. 1839.

I write these lines, as you see, from the common prison of Seville,to which I was led yesterday, or rather dragged, neither for murdernor robbery nor debt, but simply for having endeavoured to obtain apassport for Cordoba, to which place I was going with my Jewishservant Hayim Ben-Attar.

When questioned by the Vice-Consul as to his authority for searchingBorrow's house, the Alcalde produced a paper purporting to be thedeposition of an old woman to whom Borrow was alleged to have sold aTestament some ten days previously. The document Borrow pronounced aforgery and the statement untrue.

Borrow's fellow-prisoners treated him with unbounded kindness andhospitality, and he was forced to confess that he had "never foundhimself amongst more quiet and well-behaved men." Nothing shows moreclearly the power of Borrow's personality over rogues and vagabondsthan the two periods spent in Spanish prisons--at Madrid and atSeville. Mr Brandram must have shuddered when he read Borrow'sletter telling him by what manner of men he was surrounded.

"What is their history?" he writes apropos of his fellow-prisoners."The handsome black-haired man, who is now looking over my shoulder,is the celebrated thief, Pelacio, the most expert housebreaker anddexterous swindler in Spain--in a word, the modern GuzmanD'alfarache. The brawny man who sits by the brasero of charcoal isSalvador, the highwayman of Ronda, who has committed a hundredmurders. A fashionably dressed man, short and slight in person, iswalking about the room: he wears immense whiskers and mustachios; heis one of that most singular race the Jews of Spain; he is imprisonedfor counterfeiting money. He is an atheist; but, like a true Jew,the name which he most hates is that of Christ. Yet he is so quietand civil, and they are all so quiet and civil, and it is that whichmost horrifies me, for quietness and civility in them seems sounnatural." {315a}

Such were the men who fraternised with an agent of a religioussociety and showed him not only civility but hospitality andkindness. It is open to question if they would have shown the sameto any other unfortunate missionary. In all probability theyrecognised a fellow-vagabond, who was at much at issue with thesocial conventions of communities as they were with the laws ofproperty.

On this occasion the period of Borrow's imprisonment was brief. Hewas released late at night on 25th Nov., within thirty hours of hisarrest, and he immediately set to work to think out a plan by whichhe could once more discomfit the Spanish authorities for thisindignity to a British subject. He would proceed to Madrid withoutdelay and put his case before the British Minister, at the same timehe would "make preparations for leaving Spain as soon as possible."

CHAPTER XX: DECEMBER 1839-MAY 1840

It was probably about this time (1839) that

"The Marques de Santa Coloma met Borrow again at Seville. He hadgreat difficulty in finding him out; though he was aware of thestreet in which he resided, no one knew him by name. At last, bydint of inquiry and description, some one exclaimed, 'Oh! you mean elBrujo' (the wizard), and he was directed to the house. He wasadmitted with great caution, and conducted through a lot of passagesand stairs, till at last he was ushered into a handsomely furnishedapartment in the 'mirador,' where Borrow was living WITH HIS WIFE ANDDAUGHTER. . . It is evident . . . that, to his Spanish friends atleast, he thus called Mrs Clarke and her daughter Henrietta his wifeand daughter: and the Marques de Santa Coloma evidently believedthat the young lady was Borrow's OWN daughter, and not his step-daughter merely (!). At the time the roads from Seville to Madridwere very unsafe. Santa Coloma wished Borrow to join his party, whowere going well armed. Borrow said he would be safe with hisGypsies. Both arrived without accident in Madrid; the Marques'sparty first. Borrow, on his arrival, told Santa Coloma that hisGypsy chief had led him by by-paths and mountains; that they had notslept in a village, nor seen a town the whole way." {316a}

It must be confessed that Mr Webster was none too reliable a witness,and it seems highly improbable that Borrow would wish to pass MrsClarke off as his wife before their marriage. The fact of theiroccupying the same house may have seemed to their Spanish friendscompromising, as it unquestionably was; but had he spoken of MrsClarke as his wife, it would have left her not a vestige ofreputation.

On arriving at Madrid Borrow found that Lord Clarendon's successor,Mr Arthur Aston, had not yet arrived, he therefore presented hiscomplaint to the Charge d'Affaires, the Hon. G. S. S. Jerningham, whohad succeeded Mr Sothern as private secretary. Mr Sothern had notyet left Madrid to take up his new post as First Secretary at Lisbon,and therefore presented Borrow to Mr Jerningham, by whom he wasreceived with great kindness. He assured Mr Jerningham that for sometime past he had given up distributing the Scriptures in Spain, andhe merely claimed the privileges of a British subject and theprotection of his Government. The First Secretary took up the caseimmediately, forwarding Borrow's letter to Don Perez de Castro with arequest for "proper steps to be taken, should Mr Borrow's complaint .. . be considered by His Excellency as properly founded." Borrowhimself was doubtful as to whether he would obtain justice, "for Ihave against me," he wrote to Mr Brandram (24th December), "theCanons of Seville; and all the arts of villany which they are soaccustomed to practise will of course be used against me for thepurpose of screening the ruffian who is their instrument. . . . Ihave been, my dear Sir, fighting with wild beasts."

The rather quaint reply to Borrow's charges was not forthcoming untilhe had left Spain and was living at Oulton. It runs: {317a}

MADRID, 11th May 1840.

Under date of 20th December last, Mr Perez de Castro informed MrJerningham that in order to answer satisfactorily his note of 8thDecember re complaint made by Borrow, he required a faithful reportto be made. These have been stated by the Municipality of Seville tothe Civil Governor of that City, and are as follows:-

"When Borrow meant to undertake his journey to Cadiz towards the endof last year, he applied to the section of public security for hisPassport, for which purpose he ought to deliver his paper ofresidence which was given to him when he arrived at Seville. Thatpaper he had not presented in its proper time to the Alcalde of hisdistrict, on which account this person had not been acquainted as heought with his residence in the district, and as his Passport couldnot be issued in consequence of this document not being in order,Borrow addressed, through the medium of a Servant, to the house ofthe said district Alcalde that the defect might be remedied. Thatfunctionary refused to do so, founded on the reasons already stated;and for the purpose of overcoming his resistance he was offered agratification, the Servant with that intent presenting half a dollar.The Alcalde, justly indignant, left his house to make the necessarycomplaint respecting their indecorous action when he met Borrow, who,surprised at the refusal of the Alcalde, expressed to him hisastonishment, addressing insulting expressions not only against hisperson but against the authorities of Spain, who, he said, he wassure were to be bought at a very small price--crying on after this,Long live the Constitution, Death to the Religion, and Long liveEngland. These and other insults gave rise to the Alcalde proceedingto his arrest and the assistance of the armed force of Veterans, andnot of the National Militia, as Borrow supposed, making a detailedreport to the Constitutional Alcalde, who forwarded it original tothe Captain General of the Province as Judge Protector of Foreigners,leaving him under detention at his disposition. He did the same withanother report transmitted by the said functionary, in whichreference to a Lady who lived at the Gate of Xerez; he denouncedBorrow as a seducer of youth in matters of Religion by facilitatingto them the perusal of prohibited books, of which a copy, that was inthe hands of the Ecclesiastical Governor, was likewise transmitted tothe Captain General. These antecedents were sufficient to haveauthorised a summary to have been formed against Borrow, but therepeated supplications of the British Vice-Consul, Mr Williams, whoamong other things stated that Borrow laboured under fits of madness,had the effect of causing the above Constitutional Alcalde to forgivehim the fault committed and recommend to the Captain General that thematter should be dropped, which was acceded to, and he was put atliberty. The above facts, official proofs of which exist in theCaptain General's Office, clearly disprove the statement of Borrow,who ungrateful for the generous hospitality which he has received,and for the consideration displayed towards him on account of hisinfirmity, and out of deference to the request of the British Vice-Consul, makes an unfounded complaint against the very authorities whohave used attentions towards him which he is certainly not deserving;it being worthy of remark, in order to prove the bad faith of hisprocedure, that in his own expose, although he disfigures facts atpleasure, using a language little decorous, he confesses part of hisfaults, such as the offering of money TO PAY, as he says, 'THE LEGALOR EXTRA-LEGAL DUES THAT MIGHT BE EXACTED, and his having twicechallenged the Alcalde.'

"I should consider myself wanting towards your enlightened sense ofjustice if, after the reasons given, I stopped to prove the just andprudent conduct of Seville authorities.

"Hope he will therefore be completely satisfied, especially after thewant of exactitude on Borrow's part.

FromEVARISTO PEREZ DE CASTRO."To Mr Aston. {319a}

And so the matter ended. The Spanish authorities knew that they nolonger had a Sir George Villiers to deal with, and had recourse tothat trump card of weak and vacillating diplomatists--delay.Whatever Borrow's offence, the method of his arrest and imprisonmentwas in itself unlawful.

It was Borrow's intention on his return to England to endeavour toobtain an interview with some members of the House of Lords, in orderto acquaint them with the manner in which Protestants were persecutedin Spain. They were debarred from the exercise of their religionfrom being married by Protestant rites, and the common privileges ofburial were denied them. He was anxious for Protestant England, lestit should fall a victim to Popery. This fear of Rome was a very realone to Borrow. He marvelled at people's blindness to the danger thatwas threatening them, and he even went so far as to entreat hisfriends at Earl Street "to drop all petty dissensions and to comportthemselves like brothers" against their common enemy the Pope.

Unfortunately Borrow had shown to a number of friends one of hisletters to Mr Brandram dealing with the Seville imprisonment, and hadeven allowed several copies of it to be taken "in order that anincorrect account of the affair might not get abroad." The resultwas an article in a London newspaper containing remarks to thedisparagement of other workers for the Gospel in Spain. Borrowdisavowed all knowledge of these observations.

"I am not ashamed of the Methodists of Cadiz," he assures MrBrandram, "their conduct in many respects does them honor, nor do Iaccuse any one of fanaticism amongst our dear and worthy friends; butI cannot answer for the tittle-tattle of Madrid. Far be it from meto reflect upon any one, I am but too well aware of my ownmultitudinous imperfections and follies."

There is nothing more mysterious in Borrow's life than his years offriendship with Mrs Clarke. He was never a woman's man, but MaryClarke seems to have awakened in him a very sincere regard. Themenage at Seville was a curious one, and both Borrow and Mrs Clarkeshould have seen that it was calculated to make people talk. Theremay have been a tacit understanding between them. Everythingconnected with their relations and courtship is very mysterious. DrKnapp is scarcely just to Borrow or gracious to the woman he married,when he implies that it was merely a business arrangement on bothsides. Mrs Clarke's affairs required a man's hand to administerthem, and Borrow was prepared to give the man's hand in exchange foran income. The engagement could scarcely have taken place in themiddle of November 1839, as Dr Knapp states, for on the day of hisarrest at Seville (24th Nov.) Borrow wrote:-

MY DEAR MRS CLARKE,--Do not be alarmed, but I am at present in theprison, to which place the Alcalde del Barrio conducted me when Iasked him to sign the Passport. If Phelipe is not already gone tothe Consul, let Henrietta go now and show him this letter. When Iasked the fellow his motives for not signing the Passport, he said ifI did not go away he would carry me to prison. I dared him to do so,as I had done nothing; whereupon he led me here.--Yours truly,

GEORGE BORROW.

This is obviously not the letter of a man recently engaged to thewoman who is to become his wife. On the other hand, Borrow may havebeen writing merely for the Consul's eye.

On hearing the news of the engagement old Mrs Borrow wrote:-

"I am not surprised, my dear Mrs Clarke, at what you tell me, thoughI knew nothing of it. It put me in mind of the Revd. Flethers; youknow they took time to consider. So far all is well. I shall nowresign him to your care, and may you love and cherish him as much asI have done. I hope and trust that each will try to make the otherhappy. You will always have my prayers and best wishes. Give mykind love to dear George and tell him he is never out of my thoughts.I have much to say, but I cannot write. I shall be glad to see youall safe and well. Give my love to Henrietta; tell her _I_ can sing'Gaily the Troubadour'; I only want the 'guitar.' {332a} God blessyou all."

There is no doubt that a very strong friendship had existed betweenMrs Clarke and Borrow during the whole time that he had beenassociated with the Bible Society. She it was who had beenindirectly responsible for his introduction to Earl Street. It isidle to speculate what it was that led Mrs Clarke to select Sevilleas the place to which to fly from her enemies. There is, however, amarked significance in old Mrs Borrow's words, "I am not surprised,my dear Mrs Clarke, at what you tell me." Whatever his mother mayhave seen, there appears to have been no thought of marriage inBorrow's mind when, on 29th September 1839, he wrote to Mr Brandramtelling him of his wish to visit "China or particular parts ofAfrica."

Borrow paid many tributes to his wife, not only in his letters, butin print, every one of which she seems thoroughly to have merited."Of my wife," he writes, {322a} "I will merely say that she is aperfect paragon of wives--can make puddings and sweets and treacleposset, and is the best woman of business in East Anglia." Onanother occasion he praises her for more general qualities, when hecompares her to the good wife of the Triad, the perfect woman endowedwith all the feminine virtues. His wife and "old Hen." (Henrietta)were his "two loved ones," and he subsequently shows in a score ofways how much they had become part of his life.

After his return to Seville, early in January, Borrow proceeded toget his "papers into some order." There seems no doubt that thismeant preparing The Zincali for publication. In the excitement andenthusiasm of authorship, and the pleasant company of Mrs and MissClarke, he seems to have been divinely unconscious that he was underorders to proceed home. Week after week passed without news of theirAgent in Spain reaching Earl Street, and the Officials and Committeeof the Bible Society became troubled to account for his non-appearance. The last letter from him had been received on 13thJanuary. Early in March Mr Jackson wrote to Mr Brackenbury askingfor news of him. A letter to Mr Williams at Seville was enclosed,which Mr Brackenbury had discretionary powers to withhold if he wereable to supply the information himself. Two letters that Borrow hadaddressed to the Society it appears had gone astray, and as "onesteamer . . . arrived after another and yet no news from Mr Borrow,"some apprehension began to manifest itself lest misfortune hadbefallen him. On the other hand, Borrow had heard nothing from theSociety for five months, the long silence making him "very, veryunhappy."

In reply to Mr Brandram's letter Borrow wrote:-

"I did not return to England immediately after my departure fromMadrid for several reasons. First, there was my affair with theAlcalde still pending; second, I wished to get my papers into someorder; third, I wished to effect a little more in the cause, thoughnot in the way of distribution, as I have no books: moreover thehouse in which I resided was paid for and I was unwilling altogetherto lose the money; I likewise dreaded an English winter, for I havelately been subjected to attacks, whether of gout or rheumatism Iknow not, which I believe were brought on by sitting, standing andsleeping in damp places during my wanderings in Spain. The Alcaldehas lately been turned out of his situation, but I believe more onaccount of his being a Carlist than for his behaviour to me; that,however, is of little consequence, as I have long forgotten theaffair." {323a}

There was no longer any reason for delay; the English winter wasover, he had one book nearly ready for publication and two others ina state of forwardness.

"I embark on the third of next month [April]," he continued, "and youwill probably see me by the 16th. I wish very much to spend theremaining years of my life in the northern parts of China, as I thinkI have a call for those regions, and shall endeavour by everyhonourable means to effect my purpose." {323b}

These words would seem to imply that his marriage with Mrs Clarke wasby no means decided upon at the date he wrote, although during theprevious month he had been in correspondence with Mr Brackenburyregarding Protestants in Spain being debarred from marrying. It isinconceivable that Mrs Clarke and her daughter contemplated living inthe North of China; and equally unlikely that Mrs Clarke would marrya potential "absentee landlord," or one who frankly confessed "I hopeyet to die in the cause of my Redeemer."

Sidi Habismilk had at first presented a grave problem; but MrBrackenbury, who secured the passages on the steamer, arranged alsofor the Arab to be slung aboard the Steam-Packet. On 3rd April thewhole party, including Hayim Ben Attar and Sidi Habismilk, boardedthe Royal Adelaide bound for London.

Borrow never forgave Spain for its treatment of him, although some ofthe happiest years of his life had been spent there. "The Spaniardsare a stupid, ungrateful set of ruffians," he afterwards wrote, "andare utterly incapable of appreciating generosity or forbearance." Hepiled up invective upon the unfortunate country. It was "the chosenland of the two fiends--assassination and murder," where avarice andenvy were the prevailing passions. It was the "country of error";yet at the same time "the land of extraordinary characters." As hesaw its shores sinking beneath the horizon, he was mercifully deniedthe knowledge that never again was he to be so happily occupied asduring the five years he had spent upon its soil distributing theScriptures, and using a British Minister as a two-edged sword.

The party arrived in London on 16th April and put up at the SpreadEagle in Gracechurch Street. On 23rd April, at St Peter's Church inCornhill, the wedding took place. There were present as witnessesonly Henrietta Clarke and John Pilgrim, the Norwich solicitor. Inthe Register the names appear as:-

"George Henry Borrow--of full age--bachelor--gentleman--of the Cityof Norwich--son of Thomas Borrow--Captain in the Army.

On 2nd May an announcement of the marriage appeared in The NorfolkChronicle. A few days later the party left for Oulton Cottage, andBorrow became a landed proprietor on a small scale in his much-lovedEast Anglia.

On 21st April Mr Brandram had written to Borrow the followingletter:-

MY DEAR FRIEND,--Your later communications have been referred to ourSub-Committee for General Purposes. After what you said yesterday inthe Committee, I am hardly aware that anything can arise out of them.The door seems shut. The Sub-Committee meet on Friday. Will youwish to make any communications to them as to any ulterior views thatmay have occurred to yourself? I do not myself at present see anysphere open to which your services in connection with our Society canbe transferred. . . . With best wishes--Believe me--Yours truly,

A. BRANDRAM.

On 24th April, the day after Borrow's wedding, the Sub-Committee dulymet and

"Resolved that, upon mature consideration, it does not appear to thisSub-Committee that there is, at present, any opening for employing MrBorrow beneficially as an Agent of the Society . . . and that it berecommended to the General Committee that the salary of Mr Borrow bepaid up to the 10th June next."

The Bible Society's valediction, which appeared in the Thirty-SixthAnnual Report, read:-

"G. Borrow, Esq., one of the gentlemen referred to in former Reportsas having so zealously exerted themselves on behalf of Spain, hasjust returned home, hopeless of further attempts at present todistribute the Scriptures in that country. Mr B. has succeeded, byalmost incredible pains, and at no small cost and hazard, in sellingduring his last visit a few hundred copies of the Bible, and mostthat remained of the edition of the New Testament printed in Madrid."

Thus ended George Borrow's activities on behalf of the British andForeign Bible Society, and incidentally the seven happiest and mostactive years of his life. On the whole the association had beenhonourable to all concerned. There had been moments of irritationand mistakes on both sides. It would be foolish to accuse theSociety of deliberately planting obstacles in the path of its ownagent; but the unfortunate championing of Lieutenant Graydon was theresult of a very grave error of judgment. Borrow had no personalfriends among the Committee, to whom the impetuous zeal of Graydonwas more picturesque than the grave and deliberate caution of Borrow.The Officials and Committee alike saw in Graydon the ideal Reformer,rushing precipitately towards martyrdom, exposing Anti-Christ as heran. Had Borrow been content to allow others to plead his cause, thehistory of his relations with the Bible Society would, in allprobability, have been different. He felt himself a grievouslyinjured man, who had suffered from what he considered to be theinsane antics of another, and he was determined that Earl Streetshould know it. On the other hand, Mr Brandram does not appear tohave understood Borrow. He made no attempt to humour him, to praisehim for what he had done and the way in which he had done it. Praisewas meat and drink to Borrow; it compensated him for what he hadendured and encouraged him to further effort. He hungered for it,and when it did not come he grew discouraged and thought that thosewho employed him were not conscious of what he was suffering. Hencethe long accounts of what he had undergone for the Gospel's sake.

During his six years in Spain he had distributed nearly 5000 copiesof the New Testament and 500 Bibles, also some hundreds of the Basqueand Gypsy Gospel of St Luke. These figures seem insignificant besidethose of Lieut. Graydon, who, on one occasion, sold as many as 1082volumes in fourteen days, and in two years printed 13,000 Testamentsand 3000 Bibles, distributing the larger part of them. During theyear 1837 he circulated altogether between five and six thousandbooks. But there was no comparison between the work of the two men.Graydon had kept to the towns and cities on the south coast; Borrow'smethods were different. He circulated his books largely amongvillages and hamlets, where the population was sparse and theopportunities of distribution small. He had gone out into thehighways, risking his life at every turn, penetrating into bandit-infested provinces in the throes of civil war, suffering incrediblehardships and fatigues and, never sparing himself. Both men wereearnest and eager; but the Bible Society favoured the wrong man--atleast for its purposes. But for Lieut. Graydon, Borrow would in allprobability have gone to China, and what a book he would havewritten, at least what letters, about the sealed East!

Borrow, however, had nothing to complain of. He had found occupationwhen he badly needed it, which indirectly was to bring him fame. Hehad been well paid for his services (during the seven years of hisemployment he drew some 2300 pounds in salary and expenses), his 200pounds a year and expenses (in Spain) comparing very favourably withMr Brandram's 300 pounds a year.

He was loyal to the Bible Society, both in word and thought. Hehonourably kept to himself the story of the Graydon dispute. Hespoke of the Society with enthusiasm, exclaiming, "Oh! the bloodglows in his veins! oh! the marrow awakes in his old bones when hethinks of what he accomplished in Spain in the cause of religion andcivilisation with the colours of that society in his hat." {328a} Inspite of the misunderstandings and the rebukes he could writefourteen years later that he "bade it adieu with feelings of love andadmiration." {328b} He "had done with Spain for ever, after doingfor her all that lay in the power of a lone man, who had never inthis world anything to depend upon, but God and his own slightstrength." {328c} In the preface to The Bible in Spain he pays ahandsome tribute to both Rule and Graydon, thus showing that althoughhe was a good hater, he could be magnanimous.

It has been stated that, during a portion of his association with theBible Society, Borrow acted as a foreign correspondent for TheMorning Herald. Dr Knapp has very satisfactorily disproved thestatement, which the Rev. Wentworth Webster received from the Marquesde Santa Coloma. Either the Marques or Mr Webster is responsible forthe statement that Borrow was wrecked, instead of nearly wrecked, offCape Finisterre. As the Marques was a passenger on the boat, themistake must be ascribed to Mr Webster. The further statement thatBorrow was imprisoned at Pamplona by Quesada is scarcely morecredible than that about the wreck. His imprisonment could not verywell have taken place, as stated, in 1837-9, because General Quesadawas killed in 1836. Mention is made of this foreign correspondentrumour only because it has been printed and reprinted. It may bethat Borrow was imprisoned at Pamplona during the "Veiled Period";there is certainly one imprisonment (according to his own statement)unaccounted for. It is curious how the fact first became impressedupon the Marques' mind, unless he had heard it from Borrow. It isquite likely that he confused the date.

It would be interesting to identify the two men whom Borrow describesin Lavengro as being at the offices of the Bible Society in EarlStreet, when he sought to exchange for a Bible the old Apple-woman'scopy of Moll Flanders. "One was dressed in brown," he writes, "andthe other was dressed in black; both were tall men--he who wasdressed in brown was thin, and had a particularly ill-naturedcountenance; the man dressed in black was bulky, his features werenoble, but they were those of a lion." {329a} Again, in The RomanyRye, he makes the man in black say with reference to the BibleSociety:- "There is one fellow amongst them for whom we entertain aparticular aversion: a big, burly parson, with the face of a lion,the voice of a buffalo, and a fist like a sledge-hammer." {329b} Whothese two worthies were it is impossible to say with any degree ofcertainty. Caroline Fox describes Andrew Brandram no further thanthat he "appeared before us once more with his shaggy eyebrows."{329c} Mr Brandram was not thin and his countenance was not ill-natured.

CHAPTER XXI: MAY 1840-MARCH 1841

Early in May, Borrow, his wife and step-daughter left London to takeup their residence at Oulton, in Suffolk. After years of wanderingand vagabondage he was to settle down as a landed proprietor. Hisincome, or rather his wife's, amounted to 450 pounds per annum, andhe must have saved a considerable sum out of the 2300 pounds he haddrawn from the Bible Society, as his mother appears to have regardedthe amounts he had sent to her as held in trust. He was thereforeable to instal himself, Sidi Habismilk and the Jew of Fez upon hiswife's small estate, with every prospect of enjoying a period ofcomfort and rest after his many years of wandering and adventure.

Oulton Cottage was ideally situated on the margin of the Broad. Itwas a one-storied building, with a dormer-attic above, hanging "overa lonely lake covered with wild fowl, and girt with dark firs,through which the wind sighs sadly. {330a} A regular Patmos, anultima Thule; placed in an angle of the most unvisited, out-of-the-way portion of England." {330b} A few yards from the water's edgestood the famous octagonal Summer-house that Borrow made his study.Here he kept his books, a veritable "polyglot gentleman's" library,consisting of such literary "tools" as a Lav-engro might be expectedto possess. There were also books of travel and adventure, somechairs, a lounge and a table; whilst behind the door hung the swordand regimental coat of the sleeping warrior to whom his younger sonhad been an affliction of the spirit, because his mind pursued pathsthat appeared so strangely perilous.

Here in this Summer-house Borrow wrote his books. Here when"sickness was in the land, and the face of nature was overcast--heavyrain-clouds swam in the heavens--the blast howled amid the pineswhich nearly surround the lonely dwelling, and the waters of the lakewhich lies before it, so quiet in general and tranquil, werefearfully agitated," Borrow shouted, "'Bring lights hither, O HayimBen Attar, son of the miracle!' And the Jew of Fez brought in thelights," {331a} and his master commenced writing a book that was tomake him famous. When tired of writing, he would sometimes sing"strange words in a stentorian voice, while passers-by on the lakewould stop to listen with astonishment and curiosity to the singularsounds." {331b}

Life at Oulton Cottage was delightfully simple. Borrow was a goodhost. "I am rather hospitable than otherwise," {331c} he wrote, andthoroughly disliked anything in the nature of meanness. There wasalways a bottle of wine of a rare vintage for the honoured guest.Sometimes the host himself would hasten away to the little Summer-house by the side of the Broad to muse, his eyes fixed upon themilitary coat and sword, or to scribble upon scraps of paper that,later, were to be transcribed by Mrs Borrow. Borrow would spend hisevenings with his wife and Henrietta, generally in reading untilbedtime.

In the Norwich days Borrow had formed an acquaintance with anotherarticled-clerk named Harvey (probably one of his colleagues at Tuck'sCourt). They had kindred tastes, in particular a love of the openair and vigorous exercise. After settling at Oulton, the Borrows andthe Harveys (then living at Bury St Edmunds) became very intimate,and frequently visited each other. Elizabeth Harvey, the daughter ofBorrow's contemporary, has given an extremely interesting account ofthe home life of the Borrows. She has described how sometimes Borrowwould sing one of his Romany songs, "shake his fist at me and lookquite wild. Then he would ask: 'Aren't you afraid of me?' 'No, notat all,' I would say. Then he would look just as gentle and kind,and say, 'God bless you, I would not hurt a hair of your head.'"{332a}

Miss Harvey has also given us many glimpses into Borrow's character."He was very fond of ghost stories," she writes, "and believed in thesupernatural." {332b} He enjoyed music of a lively description, oneof his favourite compositions being the well-known "Redowa" polka,which he would frequently ask to have played to him again.

As an eater Borrow was very moderate, he "took very little breakfastbut ate a very great quantity of dinner, and then had only a draughtof cold water before going to bed . . . He was very temperate andwould eat what was set before him, often not thinking of what he wasdoing, and he never refused what was offered him." {332c} On oneoccasion when he was dining with the Harveys, young Harvey, seeingBorrow engrossed in telling of his travels, handed him dish afterdish in rapid succession, from all of which he helped himself,entirely unconscious of what he was doing. Finally his plate wasfull to overflowing, perceiving which he became very angry, and itwas some time before he could be appeased. A practical joke made noappeal to him. {332d}

Elizabeth Harvey also tells how, when a cousin of hers was staying atCromer, the landlady went to her one day and said, "O, Miss, there'ssuch a curious gentleman been. I don't know what to think of him, Iasked him what he would like for dinner, and he said, 'Give me apiece of flesh.'" "What sort of gentleman was it?" enquired thecousin, and on hearing the description recognised George Borrow, andexplained that the strange visitor merely wanted a rump-steak, afavourite dish with him.

As he did not shoot or hunt, he obtained exercise either by riding orwalking. At times "he suffered from sleeplessness, when he would getup and walk to Norwich (25 miles) and return the next nightrecovered" {333a} yet Borrow has said that "he always had the healthof an elephant."

He was proud of the Church and took great pleasure in showing to hisfriends the brasses it contained, including one bearing an effigy ofSir John Fastolf, whom he considered to be the original of Falstaff.He was also "very fond of his trees. He quite fretted if by somemischance he lost one." {333b}

His methods with the country people round Oulton were calculated toearn for him a reputation for queerness. "Curiosity is the leadingfeature of my character" {333c} he confessed, and the East Anglianlooks upon curiosity in others with marked suspicion. It wasimpossible for Borrow to walk far without getting into conversationwith someone or other. He delighted in getting people to tell theirhistories and experiences; "when they used some word peculiar toNorfolk (or Suffolk) country men, he would say 'Why, that's a Danishword.' By and bye the man would use another peculiar expression,'Why, that's Saxon'; a little further on another, 'Why, that'sFrench.' And he would add, 'Why, what a wonderful man you are tospeak so many languages.' One man got very angry, but Mr Borrow wasquite unconscious that he had given any offence." {334a}

He took pleasure in puzzling people about languages. ElizabethHarvey tells {334b} how he once put a book before her telling her toread it, and on her saying she could not, he replied, "You ought;it's your own language." The volume was written in Saxon. Yet forall this he hated to hear foreign words introduced into conversation.When he heard such adulterations of the English language he wouldexclaim jocosely, "What's that, trying to come over me with strangelanguages?" {334c}

Borrow's first thoughts on settling down were of literature. He hadmaterial for several books, as he had informed Mr Brandram. Puttingaside, at least for the present, the translations of the ballads andsongs, he devoted himself to preparing for the press a book upon theSpanish Gypsies. During the five years spent in Spain he hadgathered together much material. He had made notes in queer placesunder strange and curious conditions, "in moments snatched from moreimportant pursuits--chiefly in ventas and posadas" {334d}--whilstengaged in distributing the Gospel. It was a book of facts that hemeant to write, not theories, and if he sometimes fostered error, itwas because at the moment it was his conception of truth. Verylittle remained to do to the manuscript. Mrs. Borrow had performedher share of the work in making a fair copy for the printer.Borrow's subsequent remark that the manuscript "was written by acountry amanuensis and probably contains many ridiculous errata," wasscarcely gracious to the wife, who seems to have comprehended so wellthe first principle of wifely duty to an illustrious and, it must beadmitted, autocratic genius--viz., self-extinction.

"No man could endure a clever wife," Borrow once confided to theunsympathetic ear of Frances Power Cobbe; but he had married onenevertheless. No woman whose cleverness had not reached the point ofinspiration could have lived in intimate association with socapricious and masterful a man as George Borrow. John Hasfeldt, insending his congratulations, had seemed to suggest that Borrow wasone of those abstruse works of nature that require close and constantstudy. "When your wife thoroughly knows you," he wrote, "she willsmooth the wrinkles on your brow and you will be so cheerful andhappy that your grey hair will turn black again."

"In November 1840 a tall athletic gentleman in black called upon MrMurray, offering a manuscript for perusal and publication." {335a}Fifteen years before, the same "tall athletic gentleman" had called adozen times at 50a Albemarle Street with translations of Northern andWelsh ballads, but "never could see Glorious John." Borrow haddetermined to make another attempt to see John Murray, and this timehe was successful. He submitted the manuscript of The Zincali, whichMurray sent to Richard Ford {335b} that he might pronounce upon itand its possibilities. "I have made acquaintance," Ford wrote to H.U. Addington, 14th Jan. 1841, "with an extraordinary fellow, GeorgeBorrow, who went out to Spain to convert the gypsies. He is about topublish his failure, and a curious book it will be. It was submittedto my perusal by the hesitating Murray." {335c} On Ford's advice thebook was accepted for publication, it being arranged that author andpublisher should share the profits equally between them.

On 17th April 1841 there appeared in two volumes The Zincali; {336a}or, An Account of the Gypsies in Spain. With an original Collectionof their Songs and Poetry, and a copious Dictionary of theirLanguage. By George Borrow, late Agent of the British and ForeignBible Society in Spain. It was dedicated to the Earl of Clarendon,G.C.B. (Sir George Villiers), in "remembrance of the many obligationsunder which your Lordship has placed me, by your energetic andeffectual interference in time of need." The first edition of 750copies sufficed to meet the demand of two years. Ford, however,wrote to Murray: "The book has created a great sensation far andwide. I was sure it would, and I hope you think that when I read theMS. my opinion and advice were sound." {336b}

The Zincali had been begun at Badajos with the Romany songs or rhymescopied down as recited by his gypsy friends. To these he hadsubsequently added, being assisted by a French courier, Juan AntonioBailly, who translated the songs into Spanish. These translationswere originally intended to be published in a separate work, as wasthe Vocabulary, which forms part of The Zincali. Had Borrow soughtto make two separate works of the "Songs" and "Vocabulary," there isvery considerable doubt if they would have fared any better than theeverlasting Ab Gwilym; but either with inspiration, or acting on someone's wise counsel, he determined to subordinate them to an accountof the Spanish Gypsies.

As a piece of bookmaking The Zincali is by no means notable. Borrowhimself refers to it (page 354) as "this strange wandering book ofmine." In construction it savours rather of the method by which itwas originally inspired; but for all that it is fascinating reading,saturated with the atmosphere of vagabondage and the gypsyencampment. It was not necessarily a book for the scholar and thephilologist, many of whom scorned it on account of its rather obviouscarelessnesses and inaccuracies. Borrow was not a writer of academicbooks. He lacked the instinct for research which alone insuresaccuracy.

It was particularly appropriate that Borrow's first book should beabout the Gypsies, who had always exercised so strange an attractionfor him that he could not remember the time "when the very name ofGypsy did not awaken within me feelings hard to be described." {337a}His was not merely an interest in their strange language, theirtraditions, their folk-lore; it was something nearer and closer tothe people themselves. They excited his curiosity, he envied theirmode of life, admired their clannishness, delighted in theirprimitive customs. Their persistence in warring against the gentileappealed strongly to his instinctive hatred of "gentility nonsense";and perhaps more than anything else, he envied them the stars and thesun and the wind on the heath.

"Romany matters have always had a peculiar interest for me," {337b}he affirms over and over again in different words, and he never lostan opportunity of joining a party of gypsies round their camp-fire.His knowledge of the Romany people was not acquired from books.Apparently he had read very few of the many works dealing with themysterious race he had singled out for his particular attention.With characteristic assurance he makes the sweeping assertion that"all the books which have been published concerning them [theGypsies] have been written by those who have introduced themselvesinto their society for a few hours, and from what they have seen orheard consider themselves competent to give the world an idea of themanners and customs of the mysterious Romany." {338a}

His attitude towards the race is curious. He recognised the Gypsiesas liars, rogues, cheats, vagabonds, in short as the incarnation ofall the vices; yet their fascination for him in no way diminished.He could mix with them, as with other vagabonds, and not becomeharmed by their broad views upon personal property, or their hundredand one tricks and dishonesties. He was a changed man when in theircompany, losing all that constraint that marked his intercourse withpeople of his own class.

He had laboured hard to bring the light of the Gospel into theirlives. He made them translate for him the Scriptures into theirtongue; but it was the novelty of the situation, aided by the glassof Malaga wine he gave them, not the beauty of the Gospel of St Luke,that aroused their interest and enthusiasm. To this, Borrow's owneyes were open. "They listened with admiration," he says; "but,alas! not of the truths, the eternal truths, I was telling them, butto find that their broken jargon could be written and read." {338b}

On one occasion, having refused to one of his congregation the loanof two barias (ounces of gold), he proceeded to read to the wholeassembly instead the Lord's Prayer and the Apostle's Creed in Romany.Happening to glance up, he found not a gypsy in the room, butsquinted, "the Gypsy fellow, the contriver of the jest, squintedworst of all. Such are Gypsies." {338c}

It was indeed the novelty that appealed to them. They greeted with ashout of exultation the reading aloud a translation that theythemselves had dictated; but they remained unmoved by the Christianteaching it contained. For all these discouragements Borrowpersisted, and perhaps none of his efforts in Spain produced lessresult than this "attempt to enlighten the minds of the Gitanos onthe subject of religion." {339a}

If the Gypsies were all that is evil, judged by conventionalstandards, they at least loyally stood by each other in the face of acommon foe. Borrow knew Ambrose Petulengro to be a liar, a thief, infact most things that it is desirable a man should not be; yet he wasequally sure that under no circumstances would he forsake a friend towhom he stood pledged. There seems to be little doubt that Borrow'sfame with the Gypsies spread throughout England and the Continent."Everybody as ever see'd the white-headed Romany Rye never forgothim."

Borrow was by no means the first Romany Rye. From Andrew Boorde(15th-16th Century) down the centuries they are to be found, even toour day, in the persons of Mr Theodore Watts-Dunton and Mr JohnSampson; but Borrow was the first to bring the cult of Gypsyism intopopularity. Before he wrote, the general view of Gypsies was thatthey were uncomfortable people who robbed the clothes-lines and hen-roosts, told fortunes and incidentally intimidated the housewife ifunprotected by man or dog. Borrow changed all this. The suspicionremained, so strongly in fact that he himself was looked at askancefor consorting with such vagabonds; but with the suspicion was morethan a spice of interest, and the Gypsies became epitomised andimmortalised in the person of Jasper Petulengro. Borrow's Gypsyismwas as unscientific as his "philology." Their language, their originhe commented on without first acquainting himself with the literaturethat had gathered round their name. Francis Hindes Groome, "thatperfect scholar-gypsy and gypsy-scholar," wrote:-

"The meagreness of his knowledge of the Anglo-Gypsy dialect came outin his Word Book of the Romany (1874); there must have been over adozen Englishmen who have known it far better than he. For hisSpanish-Gypsy vocabulary in The Zincali he certainly drew largelyeither on Richard Bright's Travels through Lower Hungary or onBright's Spanish authority, whatever that may have been. Hisknowledge of the strange history of the Gypsies was very elementary,of their manners almost more so, and of their folk-lore practicallynil. And yet I would put George Borrow above every other writer onthe Gypsies. In Lavengro and, to a less degree, in its sequel, TheRomany Rye, he communicates a subtle insight into Gypsydom that istotally wanting in the works--mainly philological--of Pott, Liebich,Paspati, Miklosich, and their confreres." {340a}

Groome was by no means partial to Borrow, as a matter of fact heopenly taxed him {340b} with drawing upon Bright's Travels in Hungary(Edinburgh 1819) for the Spanish-Romany Vocabulary, and was strong inhis denunciation of him as a poseur.

Borrow scorned book-learning. Writing to John Murray, Junr. (21stJan. 1843), about The Bible in Spain, he says, "I was conscious thatthere was vitality in the book and knew that it must sell. I readnothing and drew entirely from my own well. I have long been tiredof books; I have had enough of them," {340c} he wrote later, andthis, taken in conjunction with another sentence, viz., "Myfavourite, I might say my only study, is man," explains not onlyBorrow's Gypsyism, but also his casual philology. Languages hemostly learned that he might know men. In youth he read--he had todo something during the long office hours, and he read Danish andWelsh literature; but he did not trouble himself much with theliterary wealth of other countries, beyond dipping into it. He had abrain of his own, and preferred to form theories from the knowledgehe had acquired first hand, a most excellent thing for a man of thenature of George Borrow, but scarcely calculated to advance learning.He hated anything academic.

"I cannot help thinking," he wrote, "that it was fortunate formyself, who am, to a certain extent, a philologist, that with me thepursuit of languages has been always modified by the love of horses .. . I might, otherwise, have become a mere philologist; one of thosebeings who toil night and day in culling useless words for some opusmagnum which Murray will never publish and nobody ever read--beingswithout enthusiasm, who, having never mounted a generous steed,cannot detect a good point in Pegasus himself." {341a}

This quotation clearly explains Borrow's attitude towards philology.As he told the emigre priest, he hoped to become something more thana philologist.

There was nothing in the sale of The Zincali to encourage Borrow toproceed with the other books he had partially prepared. Nearly sevenweeks after publication, scarcely three hundred copies had been sold.In the spring of the following year (18th March) John Murray wrote:"The sale of the book has not amounted to much since the firstpublication; but in recompense for this the Yankees have printed twoeditions, one for twenty pence COMPLETE." As Borrow did not benefitfrom the sale of American editions, the news was not quite socomforting as it would have been had it referred to the Englishissue.

CHAPTER XXII: APRIL 1841-MARCH 1844

During his wanderings in Portugal and Spain Borrow had carried outhis intention of keeping a journal, from which on several occasionshe sent transcriptions to Earl Street instead of recapitulating inhis letters the adventures that befell him. Many of his letters wentastray, which is not strange considering the state of the country.The letters and reports that Borrow wrote to the Bible Society, whichstill exist, may be roughly divided as follows

From his introduction until the end of the Russian expedition 17.50Used for The Bible in Spain 30.00Others written during the Spanish and Portuguese periods and not used for The Bible in Spain 52.50 100.00

Thirty per cent, of the whole number of the letters was all thatBorrow used for The Bible in Spain. In addition he had his Journal,and from these two sources he obtained all the material he requiredfor the book that was to electrify the religious reading-public andmake famous its writer.

Between Borrow and Ford a warm friendship had sprung up, and manyletters passed between them. Ford, who was busily engaged upon hisHand-Book, sought Borrow's advice upon a number of points, inparticular about Gypsy matters. There was something of the sameatmosphere in his letters as in those of John Hasfeldt: a frank,affectionate interest in Borrow and what affected him that it wasimpossible to resent. "How I wish you had given us more aboutyourself," he wrote to Borrow apropos of The Zincali, "instead of theextracts from those blunder-headed old Spaniards, who knew nothingabout Gypsies! I shall give you . . . a hint to publish your wholeadventures for the last twenty years." But Hayim Ben-Attar, son ofthe miracle, had already brought lights, and The Bible in Spain hadbeen begun.

Ford's counsel was invariably sound and sane. He advised El Gitano,as he sometimes called Borrow, "to avoid Spanish historians andPOETRY like Prussic acid; to stick to himself, his biography andqueer adventures," {343a} to all of which Borrow promised obedience.Ford wrote to Borrow (Feb. 1841) suggesting that The Bible in Spainshould be what it actually was. "I am delighted to hear," he wrote,"that you meditate giving us your travels in Spain. The more oddpersonal adventures the better, and still more so if DRAMATIC; thatis, giving the exact conversations."

In June 1841 Borrow received from Earl Street the originals of hisletters to the Bible Society, and when he was eventually called uponto return them he retained a number, either through carelessness orby design. It was evidently understood that there should be noreference to any contentious matters. Borrow set to work with theaid of his "Country Amanuensis" to transcribe such portions of thecorrespondence as he required. The work proceeded slowly.

"I still scribble occasionally for want of something better to do,"he informs John Murray, Junr. (23rd Aug. 1841), and continues: " . .. A queer book will be this same Bible in Spain, containing all myqueer adventures in that queer country whilst engaged in distributingthe Gospel, but neither learning, nor disquisitions, fine writing, orpoetry. A book with such a title and of this description canscarcely fail of success."

Through a dreary summer and autumn he wrote on complaining that therewas "scarcely a gleam of sunshine." Remote from the world "with notthe least idea of what is going on save in my immediateneighbourhood," he wrote merely to kill time. Such an existence was,to the last degree, uncongenial to a man who for years had beenaccustomed to sunshine and a life full of incident and adventure.

He grew restless and ill-content. He had been as free as the wind,with occupation for brain and body. He was now, like Achilles,brooding in his tent, and over his mind there fell a shadow ofunrest. As early as July 1841 he had thought of settling in Berlinand devoting himself to study. Hasfeldt suggested Denmark, the landof the Sagas. Later in the same year Africa had presented itself toBorrow as a possible retreat, but Ford advised him against it as "theland from which few travellers return," and told him that he had muchbetter go to Seville. Still later Constantinople was considered andthen the coast of Barbary. Into his letters there crept a note ofquerulous complaint. John Hasfeldt besought him to remember how muchhe had travelled and he would find that he had wandered enough, andthen he would accustom himself to rest.

The manuscript of The Bible in Spain was completed early in January(1842) and despatched to John Murray, who sent it to Richard Ford.From the "reader's report" it is to be gathered that in addition tothe manuscript Borrow sent also the letters that he had borrowed fromthe Bible Society. Ford refers to the story of the man stung todeath by vipers {344a} "in the letter of the 16th August 1837," andadvises that "Mr Borrow should introduce it into his narrative." Hefurther recommends him "to go carefully over the whole of hisLetters, as it is very probable that other points of interest whichthey contain may have been omitted in the narrative. Some of themost interesting letters relate to journies not given in the MS."

The work when it reached Ford was apparently in a very rough state.In addition to many mistakes in spelling and grammar, a number ofwords were left blank. In a vast number of instances short sentenceswere run together. Mrs Borrow does not appear to have been a verysuccessful amanuensis at this period. Perhaps the most interestingindication of how much the manuscript, as first submitted, differedfrom the published work is shown by one of Ford's criticisms:-

"In the narrative there are at present two breaks--one from aboutMarch 1836 to June 1837 [Chapters XIII.-XX.],--and the other fromNovember 1837 to July 1839 [Chapters XXXVI.-XLIX.]

This represents a third of the book as finally printed. Fordobjected to the sudden ending; but Borrow made no alteration in thisrespect. There were a number of other suggestions of lesserimportance in this admirable piece of technical criticism. Forddisliked Borrow's striving to create an air of mystery as "taking anunwarrantable liberty with the reader"; he suggested a map and ashort biographical sketch of the author, and especially the nature ofhis connection with the Bible Society. Finally he gives it as hisopinion that it is neither necessary nor advisable to insert any ofhis letters to the Bible Society, either in the body of the book oras an Appendix.

"The Dialogues are amongst the best parts of the book," Ford wrote;"but in several of them the tone of the speakers, of those especiallywho are in humble life, is too correct and elevated, and thereforeout of character. This takes away from their effect. I think itwould be very advisable that Mr Borrow should go over them withreference to this point, simplifying a few of the turns of expressionand introducing a few contractions--don'ts, can'ts, etc. This wouldimprove them greatly."

This criticism applies to all Borrow's books, in particular to thepassages dealing with the Gypsies, who, in spite of their love ofhigh-sounding words, which they frequently misuse, do not speak withthe academic precision of Borrow's works any more than do peers orprinces or even pedagogues. Borrow met Ford's criticism with theassurance that "the lower classes in Spain are generally elevated intheir style and scarcely ever descend to vulgarity."

Borrow's first impulse appears to have been to disregard thesuggestion that the two breaks should be filled in. On 13th Jan. hewrote to John Murray, Junr.:

"I have received the MS. and likewise your kind letter . . . Praythank the Gentleman who perused the MS. in my name for hissuggestions, which I will attend to. [By this it is clear thatBorrow was not told that Ford was 'the Gentleman.'] I find that theMS. was full of trifling mistakes, the fault of my amanuensis; but Iam going through it, and within three days shall have made all thenecessary corrections."

No man, of however sanguine a temperament, could seriouslycontemplate the mere transcription of some eighty thousand words, inaddition to the correction of twice that amount of manuscript, withinthree days. Nine days later Borrow wrote again to John Murray, Junr."We are losing time; I have corrected seven hundred CONSECUTIVE pagesof MS., and the remaining two hundred will be ready in a fortnight."That he had taken so long was due to the fact that the greater partof the preceding week had been occupied with other and more excitingmatters than correcting manuscript.

"During the last week," he continues, "I have been chiefly engaged inhorse-breaking. A most magnificent animal has found his way to thisneighbourhood--a half-bred Arabian--he is at present in the hands ofa low horse-dealer; he can be bought for eight pounds, but no personwill have him; it is said that he kills everybody who mounts him. Ihave been CHARMING him, and have so far succeeded that at present hedoes not fling me more than once in five minutes. What acontemptible trade is the Author's compared to that of the jockey."

It was not until towards the end of February that the correctedmanuscript of the first volume of The Bible in Spain reachedAlbemarle Street. Later and better counsels had apparentlyprevailed, and Borrow had become reconciled to filling up the breaks.

Borrow had other occupations than preparing his manuscript for theprinter's hands. He was ill and overwrought, and small things becamemagnified out of all proportion to their actual importance. Therehad been a dispute between Borrow's dog and that of the rector ofOulton, the Rev. E. P. Denniss, and as the place was small, the dogsmet frequently and renewed their feud. Finally the masters of theanimals became involved, and an interchange of frigid notes ensued.It appears that Borrow threatened to appeal to the Law and to theBishop of the Diocese, and further seems to have suggested that inthe interests of peace, the rector might do away with his own dog.The tone of the correspondence may be gathered from the followingnotes:- {347a}

"Mr Denniss begs to acknowledge Mr Borrow's note, and is sorry tohear that his dog and Mr Borrow's have again fallen out. Mr Dennisslearns from his servant that Mr D's dog was no more in fault than MrB's, which latter is of a very quarrelsome and savage disposition, asMr Denniss can himself testify, as well as many other people. MrDenniss regrets that these two animals cannot agree when they meet,but he must decline acceding to Mr Borrow's somewhat arbitrarydemand, conceiving he has as much right to retain a favourite, and inreality very harmless, animal, as Mr Borrow has to keep a dog whichhas once bitten Mr Denniss himself, and oftentimes attacked him andhis family. Mr Borrow is at perfect liberty to take any measure hemay deem advisable, either before the magistrates or the Bishop ofthe Diocese, as Mr Denniss is quite prepared to meet them."

"OULTON RECTORY, 22nd April 1842."

Borrow's reply (in the rough draft found among his papers after hisdeath) ran:

"Mr Borrow has received Mr Denniss' answer to his note. With respectto Mr Denniss' recrimination on the quarrelsome disposition of hisharmless house-dog, Mr Borrow declines to say anything further. Noone knows better than Mr Denniss the value of his own assertions . .. Circumstances over which Mr Borrow has at present no control willoccasionally bring him and his family under the same roof with MrDenniss; that roof, however, is the roof of the House of God, and theprayers of the Church of England are wholesome from whatever mouththey may proceed."

Borrow's most partisan admirer could not excuse the outrage to alldecency contained in the last paragraph of his note, if indeed itwere ever sent, in any other way than to plead the writer's ill-health.

It had been arranged that The Bible in Spain should make itsappearance in May. In July Borrow wrote showing some impatience andurging greater expedition.

"What are your intentions with respect to the Bible in Spain?" heenquires of John Murray. "I am a frank man, and frankness neveroffends me. Has anybody put you out of conceit with the book? . . .Tell me frankly and I will drink your health in Romany. Or would theappearance of the Bible on the first of October interfere with theavatar, first or second, of some very wonderful lion or Divinity, towhom George Borrow, who is NEITHER, must of course give place? Befrank with me, my dear Sir, and I will drink your health in Romanyand Madeira."

He goes on to offer to release John Murray from his "share in theagreement" and complete the book himself remitting to the printer"the necessary money for the purchase of paper."

To Ford, who had acted as a sort of godfather to The Bible in Spain,it was "a rum, very rum, mixture of gypsyism, Judaism, and missionaryadventure," as he informed John Murray. He read it "with greatdelight," and its publisher may "depend upon it that the book willsell, which, after all, is the rub." He liked the sincerity, thestyle, the effect of incident piling on incident. It reminded him ofGil Blas with a touch of Bunyan. Borrow is "such a TRUMP . . . asfull of meat as an egg, and a fresh-laid one." All this he tellsJohn Murray, and concludes with the assurance, "Borrow will lay yougolden eggs, and hatch them after the ways of Egypt; put salt on histail and secure him in your coop, and beware how any poacher coaxeshim with 'raisins' or reasons out of the Albemarle preserve." {349a}

Ford was never tired of applying new adjectives to Borrow and hiswork. He was "an extraordinary fellow," "this wild missionary," "aqueer chap." Borrow, on the other hand, cherished a sincere regardfor the man who had shown such enthusiasm for his work. To JohnMurray, Junr., he wrote (4th April 1843): "Pray remember me to Ford,who is no humbug and is one of the few beings that I care somethingabout."

Throughout his correspondence with Borrow, Richard Ford showed ajudgment and an appreciation of what the public would be likely towelcome that stamped him as a publishers' "reader" by instinct. Suchadvice as he gave to Borrow in the following letter set up a standardof what a book, such as Borrow had it in his power to write, actuallyshould be. It unquestionably influenced Borrow:-

10th June 1842.

"My advice again and again is to avoid all fine writing, alldescriptions of mere scenery and trivial events. What the worldwants are racy, real, genuine scenes, and the more out of the way thebetter. Poetry is utterly to be avoided. If Apollo were to comedown from Heaven, John Murray would not take his best manuscript as agift. Stick to yourself, to what you have seen, and the people youhave mixed with. The more you give us of odd Jewish people thebetter . . . Avoid WORDS, stick to DEEDS. Never think of how youexpress yourself; for good matter MUST tell, and no fine writing willmake bad matter good. Don't be afraid that what YOU may not thinkgood will not be thought so by others. It often happens just thereverse . . . New facts seen in new and strange countries will pleaseeverybody; but old scenery, even Cintra, will not. We know all aboutthat, and want something that we do not know . . . The grand thing isto be bold and to avoid the common track of the silver paper, silverfork, blue-stocking. Give us adventure, wild adventure, journals,thirty language book, sorcery, Jews, Gentiles, rambles, and theINTERIOR of Spanish prisons--the way you get in, the way you get out.No author has yet given us a Spanish prison. Enter into theiniquities, the fees, the slang, etc. It will be a little a laThurtell, but you see the people like to have it so. Avoid rant andcant. Dialogues always tell; they are dramatic and give an air ofreality."

The Bible in Spain was published 10th December, and one of the firstcopies that reached him was inscribed by the author to "Ann Borrow.With her son's best love, 13th Decr. 1842."

From the critics there was praise and scarcely anything but praise.It was received as a work bearing the unmistakable stamp of genius.Lockhart himself reviewed it in The Quarterly Review, confessing theshame he felt at not having reviewed The Zincali. "Very good--veryclever--very neatly done. Only one fault to find--too laudatory,"was Borrow's comment upon this notice.

And through the clamour and din of it all, old Mrs Borrow wrote toher daughter-in-law telling her of the call of an old friend, whomshe had not seen for twenty-eight years, and who had come to talkwith her of the fame of her son, "the most remarkable man thatDereham ever produced. Capt. Girling is a man of few words, but whenhe DO speak it is to some purpose." Ford wrote also (he was alwayswriting impulsive, boyish letters) telling how Borrow's name would"fill the trump of fame," and that "Murray is in high bone" about thebook. Hasfeldt wrote, too, saying that he saw his "friend 'tallGeorge,' wandering over the mountains until I ached in every jointwith the vividness of his descriptions."

In all this chorus of praise there was the complaint of the DublinReview that "Borrow was a missionary sent out by a gang ofconspirators against Christianity." Borrow's comment upon thisnotice was that "It is easier to call names and misquote passages ina dirty Review than to write The Bible in Spain."

A second edition of The Bible in Spain was issued in January, towhich the author contributed a preface, "very funny, but wild," heassured John Murray, Junr., and he promised "yet another preface forthe third edition, should one be called for." The third editionappeared in March, the fourth in June, and the fifth in July. Whenthe Fourth Edition was nearing completion Borrow wrote to Murray:"Would it be as well to write a preface to this FOURTH edition with atirade or two against the Pope, and allusions to the Great NorthRoad?" To which Murray replied, "With due submission to you asauthor, I would suggest that you should not abuse the Pope in the newpreface."

In the flush of his success Borrow could afford to laugh at the fewcavilling critics.

"Let them call me a nonentity if they will," he wrote to John Murray,Junr. (13th March). "I believe that some of those, who say I am aphantom, would alter their tone provided they were to ask me to agood dinner; bottles emptied and fowls devoured are not exactly thefeats of a phantom. No! I partake more of the nature of a Brownieor Robin Goodfellow, goblins, 'tis true, but full of merriment andfun, and fond of good eating and drinking."

America echoed back the praise and bought the book in thousands.Publishers issued editions in Philadelphia and New York; but Borrowdid not participate in the profits, as there was then no copyrightprotection for English books in the United States of America. TheAthenaeum reported (27th May 1843) that 30,000 copies had been soldin America. "I really never heard of anything so infamous," wroteBorrow to his wife. The only thing that America gave him was praiseand (in common with other countries) a place in its biographicaldictionaries and encyclopaedias. The Bible in Spain was translatedinto French and German and subsequently (abridged) into Russian.

What appeared to please Borrow most was Sir Robert Peel's referenceto him in the House of Commons, although he regretted the scantyreport of the speech given in the newspapers. Replying to DrBowring's (at that time Borrow's friend) motion "for copies of thecorrespondence of the British Government with the Porte on thesubject of the Bishop of Jerusalem," Sir Robert remarked: "If MrBorrow had been deterred by trifling obstacles, the circulation ofthe Bible in Spain would never have been advanced to the extent whichit had happily attained. If he had not persevered he would not havebeen the agent of so much enlightment." {352a}

There were many things that contributed to the instantaneous successof The Bible in Spain. Apart from the vivid picture that it gave ofthe indomitable courage and iron determination of a man commandingsuccess, its literary qualities, and enthralling interest, itsgreatest commercial asset lay in its appeal to the Religious Public.Never, perhaps, had they been invited to read such a book, becausenever had the Bible been distributed by so amazing a missionary asGeorge Borrow. Gil Blas with a touch of Bunyan, as Ford delightfullyphrased it, and not too much Bunyan. Thieves, murderers, gypsies,bandits, prisons, wars--all knit together by the missionary work of aman who was persona grata with every lawless ruffian he encountered,and yet a sower of the seed. The Religious Public did not pause toponder over the strangeness of the situation. They had fallen amongthieves, and with breathless eagerness were prepared to enjoy to thefull the novel experience.

Here was a religious book full of the most exquisite material thrillswithout a suggestion of a spiritual moral. Criminals wereencountered, their deeds rehearsed and the customary sermon upon theevils arising from wickedness absent. It was a stimulating drink tounaccustomed palates. The Bible in Spain sold in its thousands.

The accuracy of the book has never been questioned; if it had,Borrow's letters to the Bible Society would immediately settle anydoubt that might arise. If there be one incident in the work thatappears invented, it is the story of Benedict Moll, the treasure-hunter; yet even that is authentic. In the following letter, dated22nd June 1839, Rey Romero, the bookseller of Santiago, refers to theunfortunate Benedict Moll:-

"The German of the Treasure," he writes, "came here last year bearingletters from the Government for the purpose of discovering it. But,a few days after his arrival, they threw him into prison; from thencehe wrote me, making himself known as the one you introduced to me;wherefore my son went to see him in prison. He told my son that youalso had been arrested, but I could not credit it. A short timeafter, they took him off to Coruna; then they brought him back hereagain, and I do not know what has become of him since." {353a}

Borrow now became the lion of the hour. He was feted and feasted inLondon, and everybody wanted to meet the wonderful white-hairedauthor of The Bible in Spain. One day he is breakfasting with thePrussian Ambassador, "with princes and members of Parliament, I wasthe star of the morning," he writes to his wife. "I thought tomyself 'what a difference!'" Later he was present at a grand soiree,"and the people came in throngs to be introduced to me. To-night,"he continues, "I am going to the Bishop of Norwich, to-morrow toanother place, and so on." {354a}

Borrow had been much touched by the news of the death of AllanCunningham (1785-1842).

"Only think, poor Allan Cunningham dead!" he wrote to John Murray,Junr. (25th Nov. 1842). "A young man--only fifty-eight--strong andtall as a giant; might have lived to a hundred and one, but hebothered himself about the affairs of this world far too much. Thatstatue shop was his bane; took to book making likewise, in a word toofond of Mammon--awful death--no preparation--came literally upon himlike a thief in the dark. Am thinking of writing a short life ofhim; old friend--twenty years' standing, knew a good deal about him;Traditional Tales his best work . . .

In these Jinglelike periods Borrow pays tribute to the man whopraised his Romantic Ballads and contributed a prefatory poem. Hereturned to the subject ten days later in another letter to JohnMurray, Junr. "I can't get poor Allan out of my head," he wrote."When I come up I intend to go and see his wife. What a woman!"

Fame did not dispel from Borrow's mind the old restlessness, thedesire for action. He was still unwell, worried at the sight of"Popery . . . springing up in every direction . . . THERE'S NO PEACEIN THIS WORLD." {355a} A cold contracted by his wife distressed himto the point of complaining that "there is little but trouble in thisworld; I am nearly tired of it." {355b} Exercise failed to benefithim. He was suffering from languor and nervousness. And through itall that Spartan woman who had committed the gravest of matrimonialerrors, that of marrying a genius, soothed and comforted the sicklion, tired even of victory.

Small things troubled him and honours awakened in him no enthusiasm.The Times in reviewing The Bible in Spain had inferred that he wasnot a member of the Church of England, {355c} and the statement "mustbe contradicted." The Royal Institution was prepared to confer anhonour upon him, and he could not make up his mind whether or not toaccept it.

"What would the Institute expect me to write?" he enquires of JohnMurray, Junr., 25th Feb. 1843. "(I have exhausted Spain and theGypsies.) Would an essay on the Welsh language and literature suit,with an account of the Celtic tongues? Or would something about theancient North and its literature be more acceptable? . . . Had itbeen the Royal Academy, I should have consented at once, and dohereby empower you to accept in my name any offer which may be madefrom that quarter. I should very much like to become an Academician,the thing would just suit me, more especially as 'they do not wantCLEVER men, but SAFE men.' Now I am safe enough, ask the BibleSociety, whose secrets I have kept so much to their satisfaction,that they have just accepted at my hands an English Gypsy Gospelgratis." {356a}

He declined an invitation to join the Ethnological Society.

"Who are they?" he enquires in the same letter. "At present I am ingreat demand. A Bishop has just requested me to visit him. Theworst of these Bishops is that they are all skinflints, saving fortheir families; their cuisine is bad and their Port-wine execrable,and as for their cigars--. . . "

Borrow strove to quiet his spirit by touring about Norfolk, "puttingup at dead of night in country towns and small villages." Hereturned to Oulton at the end of a fortnight, having tired himselfand knocked up his horse. Even the news that a new edition of TheBible in Spain was required could not awaken in him any enthusiasm.He was glad the book had sold, as he knew it would, and he would likea rough estimate of the profits. A few days later he writes to JohnMurray, Junr., with reference to a new edition of The Zincali, sayingthat he finds "that there is far more connection between the firstand second volumes than he had imagined," and begging that thereprint may be the same as the first. "It would take nearly a monthto refashion the book," he continues, "and I believe a month's mentallabour at the present time would do me up." The weather inparticular affected, him. For years he had been accustomed to sun-warmed Spain, and the gloom and greyness of England depressed him.

"Strange weather this," he had written to John Murray (31st Dec.1842)--"very unwholesome I believe both for man and beast. Severalpeople dead and great mortality amongst the cattle. Am intolerablywell myself, but get but little rest--disagreeable dreams--digestionnot quite so good as I could wish--been on the water system--won'tdo--have left it off, and am now taking lessons in singing."

Many men have earned the reputation of madness for less eccentricactions than taking lessons in singing as a cure for indigestion,after the failure of the water cure.

Although he was receiving complimentary letters from all quarters andfrom people he had never even heard of, he seemed acutely unhappy.

"I did wrong," he writes to his wife from London (29th May 1843),"not to bring you when I came, for without you I cannot get on atall. Left to myself, a gloom comes upon me which I cannot describe.I will endeavour to be home on Thursday, as I wish so much to be withyou, without whom there is no joy for me nor rest. You tell me toask for SITUATIONS, etc. I am not at all suited for them. My placeseems to be in our own dear cottage, where, with your help, I hope toprepare for a better world . . . I dare say I shall be home onThursday, perhaps earlier, if I am unwell; for the poor bird when introuble has no one to fly to but his mate." And a few days later:"I wish I had not left home. Take care of yourself. Kiss poor Hen."

During his stay in London, Borrow sat to Henry Wyndham Phillips,R.A., for his portrait. {357a} On 21st June John Murray wrote: "Ihave seen your portrait. Phillips is going to saw off a bit of thepanel, which will give you your proper and characteristic height.Next year you will doubtless cut a great figure in the Exhibition.It is the best thing young Phillips has done." The painting wasexhibited at the Royal Academy in 1844 as "George Borrow, Esq.,author of The Bible in Spain," and is now in the possession of MrJohn Murray.

There is a story told in connection with the painting of thisportrait. Borrow was a bad sitter, and visibly chafed at remainingindoors doing nothing. To overcome this restlessness the painter hadrecourse to a clever stratagem. He enquired of his sitter if Persianwere really a fine language, as he had heard; Borrow assured him thatit was, and at Phillips' request, started declaiming at the top ofhis voice, his eyes flashing with enthusiasm. When he ceased, thewily painter mentioned other tongues, Turkish, Armenian, etc., ineach instance with the same result, and the painting of the portraitbecame an easy matter.

On 23rd June John Murray (the Second) died, at the age of sixty-five,and was succeeded by his son. "Poor old Murray!" Ford wrote toBorrow, "We shall never see his like again. He . . . was a finefellow in every respect." In another letter he refers to him as"that Prince of Bibliophiles, poor, dear, old Murray." Borrow's ownrelations with John Murray had always been most cordial. On oneoccasion, when writing to his son, he says: "I shall be most happyto see you and still more your father, whose jokes do one good. Iwish all the world were as gay as he." Then without a break, he goeson to deplore the fact that "a gentleman drowned himself last week onmy property. I wish he had gone somewhere else." Such was GeorgeBorrow.

For some time past Borrow's thoughts had been directed towardsobtaining a Government post abroad. The sentence, "You tell me toask for situations, etc.," in a letter to his wife had reference tothis ambition. He had previously (21st June 1841) written to LordClarendon suggesting for himself a consulship; but the reply had notbeen encouraging. It was "quite hopeless to expect a consulship fromLord Palmerston, the applicants were too many and the appointmentstoo few."

Borrow recognised the stagnation of his present life.

"I wish the Government would give me some command in Ireland whichwould call forth my energies," he wrote to John Murray (25th Oct.1843). "If there be an outbreak there I shall apply to them at once,for my heart is with them in the present matter: I hope they will befirm, and they have nothing to fear; I am sure that the Englishnation will back them, for the insolence and ingratitude of theIrish, and the cowardice of their humbug chief, have caused universaldisgust." Later he wrote, also to John Murray, with reference tothat "trumpery fellow O'Connell . . . I wish I were acquainted withSir Robert Peel. I could give him many a useful hint with respect toIreland and the Irish. I know both tolerably well. Whenever there'sa row I intend to go over with Sidi Habismilk and put myself at thehead of a body of volunteers."

He had previously written "the old Duke [Wellington] will at lastgive salt eel to that cowardly, bawling vagabond O'Connell." Borrowdetested O'Connell as a "Dublin bully . . . a humbug, without courageor one particle of manly feeling." Again (17th June) he had written:"Horrible news from Ireland. I wish sincerely the blackguards wouldbreak out at once; they will never be quiet until they have got asound licking, and the sooner the better."

The finer side of Borrow's character was shown in his eagerness toobtain employment. There is a touch of pathos in the sight of thisknight, armed and ready to fight anything for anybody, wasting hisstrength and his talents in feuds with his neighbours.

In the profits on the old and the preparation of new editions of TheBible in Spain, Borrow took a keen interest. The money he was makingenabled him to assist his wife in disembarrassing her estate. "Ibegin to take considerable pleasure in making money," he wrote to hispublisher, "which I hope is a good sign; for what is life unless wetake pleasure in something?" Again he enquires, "Why does not thepublic call for another edition of them [The Gypsies of Spain]. Yousee what an unconscionable rascal I am becoming." During hislifetime Borrow received from the firm of Murray, 3437 pounds, 19s.,most of which was on account of The Bible in Spain and, consequently,was paid to him during the first years of his association withAlbemarle Street.

Caroline Fox gives an interesting picture of Borrow at this period ashe appeared to her:-

"25th Oct. 1843.

"Catherine Gurney gave us a note to George Borrow, so on him wecalled,--a tall, ungainly, uncouth man, with great physical strength,a quick penetrating eye, a confident manner, and a disagreeable toneand pronunciation. He was sitting on one side of the fire, and hisold mother on the other. His spirits always sink in wet weather, andto-day was very rainy, but he was courteous and not displeased to bea little lionised, for his delicacy is not of the most susceptible.He talked about Spain and the Spaniards; the lowest classes of whom,he says, are the only ones worth investigating, the upper and middleclass being (with exceptions, of course) mean, selfish, and proudbeyond description. They care little for Roman Catholicism, and bearfaint allegiance to the Pope. They generally lead profligate lives,until they lose all energy and then become slavishly superstitious.He said a curious thing of the Esquimaux, namely, that their languageis a most complex and highly artificial one, calculated to expressthe most delicate metaphysical subtleties, yet they have noliterature, nor are there any traces of their ever having had one--amost curious anomaly; hence he simply argues that you can ill judgeof a people by their language." {360a}

One of the strangest things about Borrow's personality was that italmost invariably struck women unfavourably. That he himself was notindifferent to women is shown by the impression made upon him by theblack eyes of one of the Misses Mills of Saxham Hall, where he wastaken to dinner by Dr Hake, who states that "long afterwards, hisinquiries after the black eyes were unfailing." {360b} He was alsovery kind and considerate to women. "He was very polite andgentlemanly in ladies' society, and we all liked him," wrote onewoman friend {360c} who frequently accompanied him on his walks. Shehas described him as walking along "singing to himself or quitesilent, quite forgetting me until he came to a high hill, when hewould turn round, seize my hand, and drag me up. Then he would sitdown and enjoy the prospect." {360d}

CHAPTER XXIII: MARCH 1844-1848

In March 1844 Borrow, unable longer to control the Wanderlust withinhim, gave up the struggle, and determined to make a journey to theEast. He was in London on the 20th, as Lady Eastlake (then MissElizabeth Rigby) testifies in her Journal. "Borrow came in theevening," she writes: "now a fine man, but a most disagreeable one;a kind of character that would be most dangerous in rebellious times--one that would suffer or persecute to the utmost. His face isexpressive of wrong-headed determination." {361a}

He left London towards the end of April for Paris, from which hewrote to John Murray, 1st May

"Vidocq wishes very much to have a copy of my Gypsies of Spain, andlikewise one of the Romany Gospels. On the other side you will findan order on the Bible Society for the latter, and perhaps you will beso kind as to let one of your people go to Earl Street to procure it.You would oblige me by forwarding it to your agent in Paris, theaddress is Monsr. Vidocq, Galerie Vivienne, No. 13 . . . V. is astrange fellow, and amongst other things dabbles in literature. Heis meditating a work upon Les Bohemiens, about whom I see he knowsnothing at all. I have no doubt that the Zincali, were it to fallinto his hands, would be preciously gutted, and the best part of thecontents pirated. By the way, could you not persuade some of theFrench publishers to cause it to be translated, in which event therewould be no fear. Such a work would be sure to sell. I wish Vidocqto have a copy of the book, but I confess I have my suspicions; he isso extraordinarily civil."

From Paris he proceeded to Vienna, and thence into Hungary andTransylvania, where he remained for some months. He is known to havebeen "in the steppe of Debreczin," {362a} to Koloszvar, through Nagy-Szeben, or Hermannstadt, on his journey through Roumania toBucharest. He visited Wallachia "for the express purpose ofdiscoursing with the Gypsies, many of whom I found wandering about."{362b}

So little is known of Borrow's Eastern Journey that the followingaccount, given by an American, has a peculiar interest:-

"My companions, as we rode along, related some marvellous stories ofa certain English traveller who had been here [near Grosswardein] andof his influence over the Gypsies. One of them said that he waswalking out with him one day, when they met a poor gypsy woman. TheEnglishman addressed her in Hungarian, and she answered in the usualdisdainful way. He changed his language, however, and spoke a wordor two in an unknown tongue. The woman's face lighted up in aninstant, and she replied in the most passionate, eager way, and aftersome conversation dragged him away almost with her. After this theEnglish gentleman visited a number of their most private gatheringsand was received everywhere as one of them. He did more good amongthem, all said, than all the laws over them, or the benevolentefforts for them, of the last half century. They described hisappearance--his tall, lank, muscular form, and mentioned that he hadbeen much in Spain, and I saw that it must be that most ubiquitous oftravellers, Mr Borrow." {362c}

This was the fame most congenial to Borrow's strange nature.Dinners, receptions, and the like caused him to despise those whofound pleasure in such "crazy admiration for what they calledgentility." It was his foible, as much as "gentility nonsense" wastheirs, to find pleasure in the role of the mysterious stranger, whoby a word could change a disdainful gypsy into a fawning, awe-stricken slave. Fame to satisfy George Borrow must carry with itsomething of the greatness of Olympus.

A glimpse of Borrow during his Eastern tour is obtained from MrsBorrow's letters to John Murray. After telling him that shepossesses a privilege which many wives do not (viz.), permission toopen her Husband's letters during his absence, she proceeds:-

"The accounts from him are, I am thankful to say, very satisfactory.It is extraordinary with what marks of kindness even Catholics ofdistinction treat him when they know who he is, but it is clearly hisgift of tongues which causes him to meet with so many adventures,several of which he has recorded of a most singular nature." {363a}

At Vienna Borrow had arranged to wait until he should receive aletter from his wife, "being very anxious to know of his family," asMrs Borrow informed John Murray (24th July).

"Thus far," she continues, "thanks be to God, he has prospered in hisjourney. Many and wonderful are the adventures he has met with,which I hope at no distant period may be related to his friends.Doctor Bowring was very kind in sending me flattering tidings of myHusband."

Borrow was at Constantinople on 17th Sept. when he drew on his letterof credit. Leland tells an anecdote about Borrow at Constantinople;but it must be remembered that it was written when he regarded Borrowwith anything but friendly feelings:-

"Sir Patrick Colquhoun told me that once when he was atConstantinople, Mr Borrow came there, and gave it out that he was amarvellous Oriental scholar. But there was great scepticism on thissubject at the Legation, and one day at the table d'hote, where thegreat writer and divers young diplomatists dined, two who were seatedon either side of Borrow began to talk Arabic, speaking to him, theresult being that he was obliged to confess that he not only did notunderstand what they were saying, but did not even know what thelanguage was. Then he was tried in Modern Greek, with the sameresult." {364a}

The story is obviously untrue. Had Borrow been ignorant of Arabic hewould not have risked writing to Dr Bowring (11th Sept. 1831; seeante, page 85) expressing his enthusiasm for that language. Arabichad, apparently, formed one of the subjects of his preliminaryexamination at Earl Street. With regard to Modern Greek he confessedin a letter to Mr Brandram (12th June 1839), "though I speak it veryill, I can make myself understood."

Having obtained a Turkish passport, and after being presented toAbdul Medjid, the Sultan, Borrow proceeded to Salonika and, crossingThessaly to Albania, visited Janina and Prevesa. He passed over toCorfu, and saw Venice and Rome, returning to England by way ofMarseilles, Paris and Havre. He arrived in London on 16th November,after nearly seven months' absence, to find his "home particularlydear to me . . . after my long wanderings."

It is curious that he should have left no record of this expedition;but if he made notes he evidently destroyed them, as, with theexception of a few letters, nothing was found among his papersrelating to the Eastern tour. There is evidence that he was occupiedwith his pen during this journey, in the existence at the BritishMuseum of his Vocabulary of the Gypsy Language as spoken in Hungaryand Transylvania, compiled during an intercourse of some months withthe Gypsies in those parts in the year 1844, by George Borrow. Inall probability he prepared his Bohemian Grammar at the same time.{365a}

From the time that he became acquainted with Borrow, Richard Ford hadconstituted himself the genius of La Mezquita (the Mosque), as hestates the little octagonal Summer-house was called. He was for everurging in impulsive, polyglot letters that the curtain to be lifted."Publish your WHOLE adventures for the last twenty years," he hadwritten. {365b} Ford saw that a man of Borrow's nature must have hadastonishing adventures, and with HIS pen would be able to tell themin an astonishing manner.

As early as the summer of 1841 Borrow appears to have contemplatedwriting his Autobiography. On the eve of the appearance of The Biblein Spain (17th Dec.) he wrote to John Murray: "I hope our book willbe successful; if so, I shall put another on the stocks. Capitalsubject: early life; studies and adventures; some account of myfather, William Taylor, Whiter, Big Ben, etc. etc."

The first draft of notes for Lavengro, an Autobiography, as the bookwas originally advertised in the announcement, is extremelyinteresting. It runs:-

Lavengro was planned in 1842 and the greater part written before theend of the following year, although the work was not actuallycompleted until 1846. There are numerous references in Borrow'sletters of this period to the book on which he was then engaged, andhe invariably refers to it as his Life. On 21st January 1843 hewrites to John Murray, Junr.: "I meditate shortly a return toBarbary in quest of the Witch Hamlet, and my adventures in the landof wonders will serve capitally to fill the thin volume of My Life, aDrama, By G. B." Again and again Borrow refers to My Life. Hasfeldtand Ford also wrote of it as the "wonderful life" and "theBiography."

In his letters to John Murray, Borrow not only refers to the book ashis Life, but from time to time gives crumbs of informationconcerning its progress. The Secretary of the Bible Society has justlent him his letters from Russia, "which will be of great assistancein the Life, as I shall work them up as I did those relating toSpain. The first volume," he continues, "will be devoted to Englandentirely, and my pursuits and adventures in early life." Herecognises that he must be careful of the reputation that he hasearned. His new book is to be original, as would be seen when it atlast appears; but he confesses that occasionally he feels"tremendously lazy." On another occasion (27th March 1843) he writesto John Murray, Junr.: "I hope by the end of next year that I shallhave part of my life ready for the press in 3 vols." Six monthslater (2nd Oct. 1843) he writes to John Murray:-

"I wish I had another Bible ready; but slow and sure is my maxim.The book which I am at present about will consist, if I live tofinish it of a series of Rembrandt pictures interspersed here andthere with a Claude. I shall tell the world of my parentage, myearly thoughts and habits; how I became a sap-engro, or viper-catcher; my wanderings with the regiment in England, Scotland andIreland . . . Then a great deal about Norwich, Billy Taylor,Thurtell, etc.; how I took to study and became a lav-engro. What doyou think of this as a bill of fare for the FIRST Vol.? The secondwill consist of my adventures in London as an author in the year '23(sic), adventures on the Big North Road in '24 (sic), Constantinople,etc. The third--but I shall tell you no more of my secrets."

In a letter to John Murray (25th Oct. 8843), the title is referred toas Lavengro: A Biography. It is to be "full of grave fun and solemnlaughter like the Bible." On 6th December he again writes:-

"I do not wish for my next book to be advertised yet; I have aparticular reason. The Americans are up to everything which affordsa prospect of gain, and I should not wonder that, provided I were toannounce my title, and the book did not appear forthwith, they wouldwrite one for me and send forth their trash into the world under myname. For my own part I am in no hurry," he proceeds. "I am writingto please myself, and am quite sure that if I can contrive to pleasemyself, I shall please the public also. Had I written a book lesspopular than the Bible, I should be less cautious; but I know howmuch is expected from me, and also know what a roar of exultationwould be raised by my enemies (and I have plenty) were I to produceanything that was not first rate."

Time after time he insists upon his determination to publish nothingthat is not "as good as the last." "I shall go on with my Life," hewrites, to Ford (9th Feb. 1844), "but slowly and lazily. What Iwrite, however, is GOOD. I feel it is good, strange and wild as itis." {367a}

From 24th-27th Jan. 1844 that "most astonishing fellow" Richard Fordvisited Borrow at Oulton, urging again in person, most likely, thelifting of the veil that obscured those seven mysterious years. Fordhas himself described this visit to Borrow in a letter written fromOulton Hall.

"I am here on a visit to El Gitano;" he writes, "two 'rum' coves, ina queer country . . . we defy the elements, and chat over las cosasde Espana, and he tells me portions of his life, more strange eventhan his book. We scamper by day over the country in a sort of gig,which reminds me of Mr Weare on his trip with Mr THURTELL [Borrow'sold preceptor]; 'Sidi Habismilk' is in the stable and a Zamarra[sheepskin coat] now before me, writing as I am in a sort of summer-house called La Mezquita, in which El Gitano concocts hislucubrations, and PAINTS his pictures, for his object is to colour upand poetise his adventures."

By this last sentence Ford showed how thoroughly he understoodBorrow's literary methods. A fortnight later Borrow writes to Ford:-

"You can't think how I miss you and our chats by the fireside. Thewine, now I am alone, has lost its flavour, and the cigars make meill. I am frequently in my valley of the shadows, and had I not mysummer jaunt [the Eastern Tour] to look forward to, I am afraid itwould be all up with your friend and Batushka."

The Eastern Tour considerably interfered with the writing ofLavengro. There was a seven months' break; but Borrow settled downto work on it again, still determined to take his time and produce abook that should be better than The Bible in Spain.

Ford's Hand-Book for Travellers in Spain and Readers at Home appearedin 1845, a work that had cost its author upwards of sixteen years oflabour. In a letter to Borrow he characterised it as "a RUM book andhas queer stuff in it, although much expurgated for the sake ofSpain." Ford was very anxious that Borrow should keep the promisethat he had given two years previously to review the Hand-Book whenit appeared. "You will do it MAGNIFICENTLY. 'Thou art the man,'"Ford had written with the greatest enthusiasm. On 2nd June anarticle of thirty-seven folio pages was despatched by Borrow to JohnMurray for The Quarterly Review, with the following from Mrs Borrow:-

"With regard to the article, it must not be received as a specimen ofwhat Mr Borrow would have produced had he been well, but heconsidered his promise to Mr Ford sacred--and it is only to be wishedthat it had been written under more favourable circumstances."Borrow was ill at the time, having been "very unwell for the lastmonth," as Mrs Borrow explains, "and particularly so lately.Shivering fits have been succeeded by burning fever, till hisstrength was much reduced; and he at present remains in a low, andweak state, and what is worse, we are by no means sure that thedisease is subdued."

Ford saw in Borrow "a crack reviewer." " . . . You have," he assuredhim in 1843, "only to write a LONG LETTER, having read the bookcarefully and thought over the subject." Ford also wrote to Borrow(26th Oct. 1843): "I have written several letters to Murrayrecommending them to BAG you forthwith, unless they are demented."There was no doubt in his, Ford's, mind as to the acceptance ofBorrow's article.

"If insanity does not rule the Q. R. camp, they will embrace theoffer with open arms in their present Erebus state of dullness," hetells Borrow, then, with a burst of confidence continues, "But,barring politics, I confidentially tell you that the Ed[inburgh] Rev.does business in a more liberal and more business-like manner thanthe Q[uarterly] Rev. I am always dunning this into Murray's head.More flies are caught with honey than vinegar. Soft sawder,especially if plenty of GOLD goes into the composition, cements aparty and keeps earnest pens together. I grieve, for my heart isentirely with the Q. R., its views and objects."

The article turned out to be, not a review of the Hand-Book, but abitter attack on Spain and her rulers. The second part was to someextent germane to the subject, but it appears to have been moreconcerned with Borrow's view of Spain and things Spanish than withFord's book. Lockhart saw that it would not do. In a letter to JohnMurray he explains very clearly and very justly the objections tousing the article as it stood.

"I am very sorry," he writes (13th June), "after Borrow has so kindlyexerted himself during illness, that I must return his paper. I readthe MS. with much pleasure; but clever and brilliant as he is surealways to be, it was very evident that he had not done such anarticle as Ford's merits required; and I therefore intended to adoptMr Borrow's lively diatribe, but interweave with his matter and addto it, such observations and extracts as might, I thought, completethe paper in a REVIEW SENSE.

"But it appears that Mr B. won't allow anybody to tamper with hispaper; therefore here it is. It will be highly ornamental as itstands to any Magazine, and I have no doubt either Blackwood orFraser or Colburn will be [only] too happy to insert it next month,if applied to now.

"Mr Borrow would not have liked that, when his Bible in Spain cameout, we should have printed a brilliant essay by Ford on some pointof Spanish interest, but including hardly anything calculated to makethe public feel that a new author of high consequence had made hisappearance among us--one bearing the name, not of Richard Ford, butof George Borrow."

Lockhart was right and Borrow was wrong. There is no room forequivocation. Borrow should have sunk his pride in favour of hisfriendship for Ford, who had, even if occasionally a little tediousin his epistolary enthusiasm, always been a loyal friend; but Borrowwas ill and excuses must be made for him. Lockhart wrote also toFord describing Borrow's paper as "just another capital chapter ofhis Bible in Spain," which he had read with delight, but there was"hardly a word of REVIEW, and no extract giving the least notion ofthe peculiar merits and style especially, of the Hand-Book." "He isunwell," continued Lockhart, "I should be very sorry to bother himmore at present; and, moreover, from the little he has said of yourSTYLE, I am forced to infer that a REVIEW of your book by him wouldnever be what I could feel authorised to publish in the Q. R." Theletter concludes with a word of condolence that the Hand-Book willhave to be committed to other hands.

Ford realised the difficulty of the situation in which he was placed,and strove to wriggle out of it by telling Borrow that his wife hadsaid all along that